Archive for April, 2004

For Immediate Release, April 14 2004Butt Dyno Racing is looking forward to a very productive season of autocross. The members of BDR know that this will take committment, dedication, and hard work. However, only one member of Butt Dyno Racing was psychotic enough to autocross on Easter: John W.

John W finished first in a hotly contested STX class in his 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX. Unfortunately, John simultaneously finished last in STX.

The event was the first of three autocrosses to be held by NASA this year. The location was Virginia Motorsports Park in The Middle Of Frigging Nowhere, Virginia. To spice things up, Mother Nature decided to add some rain to the mix. Because of the drive to The Middle Of Frigging Nowhere, John chose to stay on his daily driving Bridgestone Potenza S03′s, which are known for their wet-weather ability, rather than swap wheels and tires at the event.

The course design was very fun, and incorporated 2 optional slaloms and a Chicago box. One of the more fun elements was the opening half-circle sweeper that opened the course. Many a drift was seen, although none by BDR. There were 33 entrants.

John’s first four runs were unspectacular: 71.x, 69.x + 1, 69.x +1, 71.x. “I was just hoping to beat that completely stock, 15 year old Volvo on all season tires” said the optimistic W. After some tips from fellow Subaru driver Matt Ingraham (who threw down a remarkable 58.x), John pushed harder and got it together with his last 4 runs, getting better each time: 65.x + 2, 66.3, 66.1, 66.0.

“I was pretty happy to finish first” said the elated W. Upon news that he had also finished last, however, he was angry and confused. “WTF do you mean I finished last in STX?” When informed that he was the only driver in STX (except for a Lancer Evolution who thought he was in STX), everything became clear. “Well, that sucks. I left too much time out there. Getting beaten by a bone stock 19-year old 325ix is kind of painful (the BMW was on Azenis). I need to push harder next time. But at the same time, I was driving reasonably smooth, and I wasn’t drifting like I was at the Test and Tune.”

The next event for BDR is the April 18th SCCA opener at Fedex Field. Look for more of the team to show up.